It now appears that the Mideast civil wars were a
warm-up for a cold front in Europe. When Ukrainians rejected Russian-leaning policies and arrested their president for murdering their citizens, Putin retaliated with the annexation of
Crimea. Russian troops move to the Ukrainian border,
as a nervous international community watches helplessly.
John Kerry said: “It can get
ugly fast if the wrong choices are made.”
Indeed, the conflict is now rapidly escalating. The Pentagon announced it is sending troops to Poland. In response,
Russian allies in Belarus are asking for more warplanes. Things are as tense as they have been at any time since WWII. What does it mean for us? What does this portend?
“And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t
panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.
Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom… But all this
is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come” (Matt. 24:6-8). More to come is right. Keep alert!
This week it was revealed that that the U.S. is considering an extended 10-year soldiers-on-the-ground commitment in Afghanistan, already the longest war in U.S. history. Is anyone surprised!? Wars are accepted as the new norm! According to a recent article by the “Peace Plan Union,” there have been 250 major wars since WWII, with over 50 million killed, millions injured, and millions more homeless. This century stands out as the bloodiest in history: 3 times more dead in the last 90 years than in the previous 500.
A major sign of the end times is an increase of wars. There are 38 going on right now, with regular rumors of more! And, given the unstoppability of nuclear proliferation, no wonder the nations are in distress!
It is hard not to see this as a sign of the
times, but many Evangelicals have numbed out. Jesus
said when you see the “distress of the nations,” it is time to “stand up and
lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). I’m
not suggesting you sell your condo in Florida just yet; but it seems to me there are things happening in the world today to which we need to pay closer attention.
Warning: This is my political opinion.
Yesterday, two more American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, not by Taliban, but by anti-American Afghan soldiers—the total is now six. This is the latest attack on U.S. forces after it was reported that American soldiers had burned copies of the Koran at a military base in Afghanistan. For Afghans who have always been suspicious of foreigners, and who have barely tolerated the Western invasion of their country, it was the last straw. And the ten-year U.S.-led strategy to earn Afghans’ trust has been severely jeopardized. One Afghan official was quoted as saying the Americans’ act is unforgivable.
Conversely, due to the attacks, not by the Taliban, but by US-trained Afghan troops, the trust of the U.S. soldiers has been severely affected as well. How can they work alongside men who may turn on them at any moment? If the Afghans can't trust the Americans, and Americans can’t trust the Afghans, the strategy won’t work. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3)
As you know, I lived in Afghanistan for two years, and have written several times about the naiveté of U.S. foreign policy that tries to change a nation’s politics without addressing the need for cultural change—something that will never happen in Afghanistan. Don’t be surprised if the anti-American sentiment, and the spirit of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7), in Afghanistan increases in the weeks ahead.
In President Obama’s speech at the United Nations last week, he made this defining statement, “Something is happening in our world. The way things have been is not the way they will be.” (This is what might be called an understatement!) The entire world’s attention is focused on economic and political destabilization not seen since 1930. It has all the drama of anxious coastal residents waiting to see where an Atlantic hurricane will land as it appears to be taking on all the qualities of a perfect storm.
The chief of the World Trade Organization said yesterday: “We are in a red zone. We are at a risk of repeating what happened in 2008—when market upheaval shook the global economy.” Unfamiliar with the term “red zone,” I went googling. The term was first used to describe a region of France that was decimated during World War I. More recently “red zone” was used to designate unsafe areas in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. A “red zone” is a place to avoid. Are we in the Red Zone?
But an even more alarming statement was made this week by the chief executive of one of the world’s largest investment banks. In describing the inability of world leaders to solve this crisis, he said: “It’s like an orchestra with 2 sides playing different music and looking to the conductor—but there is no conductor.” The bible foretells a time when the world will look for a great leader: a man of peace, a messiah. But the Bible says shortly thereafter, the entire system of government and religion on earth will be brought to its end when Jesus takes the world stage to establish His kingdom. How close is it? Well, I think it's pretty close when people start looking for a leader to get us out of the “red zone.”
